Los Altos Hills council passes on request to record finance committee meetings

By Jason Green

Daily News Staff Writer

Posted:
04/19/2014 12:30:10 AM PDT

Updated:
04/19/2014 12:54:42 AM PDT

The Los Altos Hills City Council rejected a request this week to record meetings of its Finance & Investment Committee.

Councilman John Harpootlian said recordings would bring transparency to a committee that makes "million dollar decisions" without much public scrutiny.

"I think the council is more professional with the videotape," Harpootlian said about the move several years ago to record and stream council meetings. "It makes a huge difference."

But the rest of the council panned the idea.

"I'm all for the transparency and the openness, but it's, like, 'Wow, if you really want to know what happens, why don't you got to the meetings?'" Councilman Rich Larsen told Harpootlian. "That would be my suggestion."

Appointed by the council, the committee is charged with, among other things, helping develop five-year capital budgets and revenue projections, reviewing the annual budget, and making investment recommendations.

The committee ranges in size from five to 11 members, including the mayor and vice mayor.

According to the town's website, appointees are required to have one of the following qualifications: five years of accounting and financial experience in a public corporation, municipal government or privately held business; five years of experience as a financial officer of a public corporation; five years of experience as an investment officer of a FDIC member institution; five years of experience as a money manager who specializes in corporate or government agency issues; or five years of experience in investment banking, venture capital or general management.

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"It's the smartest guys in the room. It's the guys with green eyeshades. It's the guys who like to do what nobody else likes to do," Harpootlian said about the committee. "We're lucky to have them."

But he said he has often wished for recordings so that he could better understand how some recommendations were reached.

"I can go back to the minutes that I have, but you don't get a detailed item-by-item," he said.

Larsen was among several council members who expressed concern that recording the meetings would "drive away good talent."

"What I am against is taping these meetings and putting that onus on a committee to be scrutinized," added Vice Mayor Courtenay Corrigan. "I think video can be misused and misappropriated. I don't think that's fair to ask of committee members on any of our committees in our town."

Corrigan also rejected criticism from one member of the public that not recording the meetings equated to secrecy. "These meetings are properly noticed," she said. "The agendas are both online and in the bulletin boards. Anyone is free to attend and participate."

That includes Harpootlian, said Councilman Gary Waldeck, addressing Harpootlian's concerns about running afoul of the state's open government law. He would, however, be limited to attending as a resident.

"If we impose recording processes other than just the minutes that the secretary takes," Waldeck said, "I'm very concerned you're going to actually deteriorate the quality of the service that we get from these committees."